NEW ALBANY, Ohio (AP) — A warehouse worker said in a frantic 911 call that he was shot in the neck and then took the gun from a co-worker after he had shot several others. Two people died and four were injured in the shooting that sent panicked employees fleeing.
It’s not clear yet what led to the Tuesday night shooting at the Ohio warehouse. The man accused in the attack, Bruce Reginald Foster III, 28, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
Police said Thursday that a second employee had died in the shooting in New Albany, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of downtown Columbus. No details were released about the conditions of the wounded workers.
In 911 calls, workers said some of the victims were shot in the production area. The man who said he took the gun away said he handed the weapon to a supervisor.
New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones said Wednesday that the suspect had talked with investigators. “I wouldn’t call him fully cooperative,” Jones said.
Licking County online court records did not list a defense attorney Thursday morning for the aggravated murder case under Foster’s name. Two possible phone numbers for Foster or a relative were not working Wednesday.
Police responding to the New Albany industrial park Tuesday night just missed Foster as he took a rideshare away from the scene, Jones said. Teams of police, aided by drones and a police dog, searched the facility.
“It does appear that there was contact between a victim and the shooter,” Jones said. “At this point, I don’t have a clear picture of how involved that contact was.”
Foster was found in an apartment in Columbus and arrested Wednesday morning. Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Deville said a stun gun was used to subdue Foster, who had declined to surrender.
The shooting happened at the warehouse for a company that makes products including cosmetics and toiletries. About 150 employees inside the building were evacuated to a nearby building.
“Nobody reported that there was any conflict or that he was in trouble at work,” Jones said.
